On the 12th of June, I finished my last exam. From personal experience, It’s safe to say that taking exams online and at home is significantly more difficult than on campus exams. Having to plan around the rest of the family’s schedules, making sure the Wi-Fi is good enough, and keeping the noise levels at home down (I have a very active dog that loves to bark at the doorbell or run laps around the living room) can make for very stressful exam conditions. For many people, including myself, the wait for exam results can be just as stressful as taking the actual exams. 

I received my exam results yesterday, and luckily I managed to pass all of my exams and I achieved a First class pass for my first year of Biomedical Science. The month and a half since my exam season ended was filled with a lot of moments where I found myself bored to death and asking myself “now what?”. Well, I’m here to help you through those “now what?” moments, whether you’re waiting for your exam results to come out or you’ve already gotten your results and now you’re patiently (or impatiently like myself) waiting for University to start. 

So here we go with a list of things you can try out: 

• Recently, I’ve gotten into using colouring books. 
  • This is a great way to help relieve some stress and a great way to explore your creativity. 
• Try new recipes! 
  • My family and I have been trying to make at least one new recipe every week. This has helped to make the average week stuck in quarantine a little bit less boring. 
• Yoga or stretching! 
  • I’ve set a personal goal that before University I want to increase my fitness and my flexibility. The stretches can help to release muscle tension before bed as well, which was helped me during not only the stress of quarantine but the stress of waiting for grades to be released and has helped me to sleep better at night. 
• Watching Netflix on Netflix Party with friends and loved ones
  • Netflix Party has definitely been a life saver for the nights I’ve been super bored. It has been a great way for my boyfriend and I to spend time together given that we have been long distance for the past couple of months since quarantine and lock down started. It has also been a great way to keep in touch with my course mates and flat mates. 
• Try online courses. 
  • Online courses are a great way to learn new skills and to possibly add to your CV. There are a plethora of online platforms where you can gain new skills, granted some of these platforms do require payment in order to undertake some courses. Some examples of platforms are Skillshare, Coursera and MasterClass. 
• Explore the University of Surrey’s societies and clubs. 
  • Looking through all of the societies that the university offers can be a great way to determine which societies/clubs you would like to join once you arrive at Surrey. 
• Zoom, Facetime, Skype or Whatsapp calls with friends and family
  • This can be a great way to connect with the people you care about and to keep in touch even through the lockdowns and restrictions we have around the globe currently. 
• Explore Spotify, Apple Music or Youtube 
  • You might find music you’ve never heard of before and can even expand your taste in music to genres you never thought you would like. 
• Explore a skill you’ve always wanted to have but never had the time to do
  • Whether it be photography, swimming, dancing, painting or a whole other range of activities, we seemingly have all of the time in the world to do the things we’ve always wanted to now during quarantine. The internet can be of great help to expand your interests. 
    

The list of things to do can go on and on. trying new things can be a great way to stop quarantine from feeling like one long day or week that just never ends. Challenge yourself to be more creative, to help more people, to be the kind of person that you have always wanted to be. Finding new hobbies or investing time into the hobbies that you already have can also help you to find the perfect group of friends once you join us at the university, as it can make it easier for you to find a society that you’ll love. 

I hope my list can help you in one way or another to reduce the number of moments where you’re stuck, asking yourself “no what?”. 

Until next time!

Stay safe 🙂